Before I go into the Chart of the Day let me just say that even I have decided to cut my own spending. From spending ungodly amounts of money for breakfast sandwiches at Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds every morning, now I only spend a quarter as much at the Supermarket instead.

I come from a generation of children that grew up playing Nintendo for at least two to three hours a day. My parents didn’t touch that “magical fun box”. But today, my generation is made up of a bunch of 28 to 34 year olds that all play video games with their kids. Because of that, the video game industry has become one of the fastest growing, and largest sectors of the entertainment industry. And even though it has shown some slowing as this recession has grinded along, growth is still there.

Byron King from Whiskey and Gunpowder thinks that we’ll see huge market declines in part because of a huge drop in consumer spending. As volatility increases and faith for the U.S. dollar circles the drain, two gold companies should soar.

Consumer spending is falling off a cliff. Yet stores won’t feel the effects universally. The store with the best value is sure to move higher.

Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) has declared that the holiday season was its “best ever”. But despite its cost advantages over bricks and mortar retailers, Adam Lass says the company will struggle to profit during this recession. Amazon’s earnings report on Friday could reveal the troubles that lie ahead. And that means a chance for quick profits with short selling or put options.

All sorts of investors are look towards Obama to boost their portfolio. Unfortunately, the folks that have not done their homework will get burned. Investors across nearly every industry are looking towards President-elect Obama’s trillion-dollar stimulus for a near-immediate boost to their portfolio. Many of them are going to be severely disappointed in the next few months.

The U.S. economy shed 693,000 jobs in December, a showing that was far worse than economists had expected and that may even have been the biggest monthly loss of jobs in more than 30 years, analysts said of a closely watched survey of business employment released yesterday (Tuesday).

Falling sales and rising foreclosures has chopped 18% from home prices in 20 major U.S. cities from Oct. 2007 to Oct. 2008, the fastest rate on record.

Dragged down by plunging gasoline prices and an auto industry struggling for survival, retail sales fell by 1.8% in November for a record fifth straight month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

It’s abundantly clear now that too much borrowing and spending in recent years is at the core of the current economic crisis. But what perplexes Bill Bonner is that government policy still assumes that more of the same is the only way to get us out of this mess. And Wall Street is only too happy to go along with it…